The Future of Benefits is Evolving to Meet the Hybrid Workforce

The workforce and workplace are experiencing seismic shifts, with remote and hybrid work forcing employers to adapt to changing employee expectations and the always-on nature of the digital office. 
 
This flexibility has triggered unprecedented job movement, with women in particular leaving roles at record rates, and companies struggling to retain younger workers. And at the same time, the always-on nature of the digital office, coupled with economic volatility, is contributing to a spike in employee burnout, with two-thirds of the workforce saying that their mental health is impacting their work.  
 
In its latest Futurist Report, The Future of Benefits, VSP Vision's Global Innovation Center spotlights how new innovations respond to these emerging workforce trends to help organizations offer holistic, individualized solutions that address employee’s unique needs. And it’s not just about the new; long-standing benefits, such as health and vision care, are evolving with these shifts, investing in and rolling out services to meet employee demand.  

Throughout the report, the Global Innovation Center spotlights five transformative trends that are driving the future of benefits: 
 
    1    Hybrid work creates an opening for lifestyle benefits. The pandemic has changed the way we work for good. Now, organizations are focusing on funding programs to create a workplace that supports the future of work. Solutions such as mental health platforms, innovative travel planning tools leaning into remote work, corporate volunteering tools, and upskilling resources support employers in adopting new lifestyle driven benefits.

    2    Stage-of-life benefits meet worker needs. Organizations that aim to offer tailored benefits must address their employees’ stages of life. Whether it’s tackling student debt, supporting maternal health, family planning, or eldercare, these stage-of-life benefits allow employees to tap into a menu of options designed to support their unique needs.  

    3    Focus on access helps employees navigate an expanded benefits menu. Providing individualized and relevant employee benefits is a crucial step to improving an organization’s offerings, but it is equally important to ensure employees know how to access, use, and maximize these benefits. There are a number of solutions that make it easy to navigate benefits options and increase engagement with physical, mental, and financial wellness programs.  

    4    Benefits come home. While employees are now either in the office, hybrid, or fully remote, the home is still the center of gravity for many workers and serving as their preferred first-touch for work, care, and leisure. On the health and wellness side, technological advancements in the fields of diagnostics and remote patient monitoring (RPM) are bringing individualized care to the home.  
 
    5    Gamification makes benefits stick. Employers are turning to gamification to increase the stickiness of their benefits, scaling adoption and enrollment and driving engagement. Interactive games can allow employees to get individualized health recommendations and understand how they can make the most out of their benefits. It’s also being applied to financial and insurance programs, keeping employees engaged with the performance of their benefits.  
 
A benefits package helps employers elevate the care and support they provide their workforce. It also enhances the new hire experience, contributing to talent retention in competitive markets. These transformative trends show how the future of benefits lies in responsive, individualized offerings that address employees’ unique, evolving needs. In addition, as benefits and the future of work change rapidly, innovations that enable accessibility and engagement will continue to shape the industry, allowing for employers and employees alike to maximize their benefits.  
 
The full report is now live and can be downloaded at: https://www.vspvision.com/innovation/futurist-report.html.

For more news and updates on vision innovation, check out the Global Innovation Center's LinkedIn page.